Energy efficiency in buildings

Getting the balance right

Urbanization - especially in developing economies – is expected to rise by some 1.5 billion people over the next 20 years. This pressures our infrastructure to support many more people and their added consumption without increasing environmental impact. That means industrial plants and residential and commercial buildings such as hospitals, schools, offices, and shopping centers must use resources as efficiently as possible.

This is a difficult challenge for older, inefficient buildings, and for modern buildings whose air conditioning, lighting and technology equipment are more energy intensive. Buildings today use around 40 percent of the energy consumed in most countries. ABB technologies can help measure and monitor energy use, automate buildings, control lighting, and improve the energy efficiency of heating and ventilation, which can reduce consumption by as much as 60 percent.

Did you know?

Building automation systems, controlling lighting, heating and ventilation, can reduce energy consumption by as much as 60 percent.

Case studies

ABB drives help control the indoor climate of the State Library of Victoria, a two-hectare, 150-year old building, producing energy savings of between 30 and 60 percent across a range of applications. As a result, total annual energy use was cut by 1,800 MWh, saving about $160,000. The investment paid for itself in energy savings within 13 months.

ABB i-bus KNX technology installed in one of Italy’s most important contemporary art museums produced annual energy savings of about 28 percent with advanced lighting control systems. The installation has reduced electricity consumption at the Museo d’Arte Moderna in Rovereto by more than 450,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year and cut costs by $112,000 in the first year.